Robin Gray | |
---|---|
37th Premier of Tasmania | |
In office 26 May 1982 –29 June 1989 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor | Sir James Plimsoll Sir Phillip Bennett |
Deputy | Max Bingham Geoff Pearsall Ray Groom |
Preceded by | Harry Holgate |
Succeeded by | Michael Field |
Constituency | Wilmot (1976–1984) Lyons (1984–1995) |
Leader of the Opposition in Tasmania | |
In office 29 June 1989 –17 December 1991 | |
In office 1979 –26 May 1982 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Kew,Victoria,Australia | 1 March 1940
Political party | Liberal Party |
Alma mater | University of Melbourne |
Occupation | Agricultural consultant |
Robin Trevor Gray AO (born 1 March 1940) is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Tasmania from 1982 to 1989. A Liberal,he was elected Liberal state leader in 1981 and in 1982 defeated the Labor government of Harry Holgate on a policy of "state development," particularly the building of the Franklin Dam,a hydroelectric dam on the Franklin River. He was only the second non-Labor premier to hold the post in 48 years,and the first in 51 years to govern in majority.
Gray was born in Kew,a suburb of Melbourne. Once he had completed high school,he won a scholarship to Dookie Agricultural College and completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science at the University of Melbourne. His qualifications led to a job as an agricultural consultant at a firm in Victoria's Western District. In 1965,the firm sent Gray to northern Tasmania to operate a branch of the firm in Launceston. [1]
During 1976,the state leader of the Liberal Party,Max Bingham,convinced Gray to stand as a candidate in the state election for that year. Gray ended up out-polling three sitting Liberal members in Wilmot. [1] Bingham resigned as leader following his party's poor performance at the 1979 election,which resulted in a marked swing away from the Liberals. Gray was elected Deputy Leader under Geoff Pearsall,and when Pearsall resigned in 1981 for unexplained personal reasons,Gray took over the party's leadership.
The campaign on which Gray embarked,to build the Franklin Dam,aroused protests from environmentalists,led by Dr Bob Brown (later a Senator). Gray in 1982 allied with militant left wing FEDFA trade union leader Kelvin McCoy to form in November 1982 the Organisation for Tasmanian Development (OTD) which was directly associated with notable stickers seen on cars in Tasmania like Doze in a Greenie:help Fertilize the South-West,If It's Brown,Flush It,and Keep Warm This Winter:Burn a Greenie. Gray and McCoy praised each other publicly in their promotion of the Gordon-below-Franklin dam. One of the more notable events of Gray's involvement with the OTD was the 3,000-strong rally in Queenstown on 11 December 1982,which included former Premier Eric Reece. [2] Despite Reece's ALP background,Gray praised Reece as "the greatest living Tasmanian."
In 1983,the newly elected federal Labor government led by Bob Hawke intervened to prevent the building of the dam. However it was finally a High Court of Australia decision ( Commonwealth v Tasmania )—despite the persistent clamour for states' rights in which even Joh Bjelke-Petersen was utilised [3] —which stopped the dam's construction. Tasmania was the recipient of $276 million in grants by way of compensation. [4]
Gray was elected to a second term in 1986. This marked the first time in 58 years that a non-Labor government had managed to win a second term in Tasmania.
In 1989,he became the centre of the debate over LGBT rights in Tasmania. Gray stated that homosexuals were not welcome in Tasmania. [5] [6]
But after seven years in power,Gray's Liberals suffered a two-seat swing at the 1989 election,which left them one seat short of a majority,although they were still the largest single group in parliament. The ALP formed an accord with the Greens,whose unprecedented five seats gave them the balance of power. [7] Gray refused to resign and asked the Governor,Sir Phillip Bennett,to call fresh elections. Bennett refused to accept his advice,believing that Gray had lost the support of the House and was no longer in a position to ask for a dissolution. When the new legislature rejected Gray's choice for Speaker,Gray realised he stood no chance of surviving a vote of confidence on the floor of the House and resigned. ALP leader Michael Field became the new Premier.
A Royal Commission [8] later found that Edmund Rouse,a prominent Launceston businessman and chairman of the forestry company Gunns Limited,had tried to bribe a Labor backbencher to cross the floor and keep Gray in power. Gray denied any knowledge of this but an ALP appointed Royal Commission criticised his conduct (having an unexplained $10,000 in the freezer was a problem),but found no legal case to answer. He resigned as Liberal leader on 17 December 1991. Post the Royal Commission conclusion,in 1992 Gray won one of the highest personal votes ever recorded at the next State election.
From 1996 until his retirement on 5 May 2010,Gray was a director of Gunns. [9] [10] His son,Ben Gray,was a co-founder of private equity firm BGH Capital. [11]
In 2020,he published a book "Proud to be Tasmanian" (co-authored with his former chief of staff Andrew Tilt). [12] In the book he attacked then party president (and subsequently Senator) Eric Abetz for moving to get rid of him as party leader. [13]
Gray was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2024 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to the people and Parliament of Tasmania,and to the community". [14]
The Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of the most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.
Paul Anthony Lennon is a Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 until officially resigning on 27 May 2008. He left office abruptly after his preferred premier rating fell to 17%, largely as a result of perceptions of corruption in his government's fast-tracked approval of the Gunns Bell Bay Pulp Mill proposal, which had effectively bypassed normal planning procedure.
Raymond John Groom is an Australian lawyer and former sportsman and politician, representing the Liberal Party in the Federal Parliament 1975–84 and the Tasmanian Parliament 1986–2001. He was a Federal and state minister for a total of 13 years. He was Premier of Tasmania from 1992 to 1996 and also served as Deputy Premier and Attorney-General.
Michael Walter Field, is a former Australian politician, holding office as the Premier of Tasmania between 1989 and 1992. Field is also a former chancellor of the University of Tasmania, holding that position from January 2013 to 30 June 2021. He was leader of the Tasmanian Branch of the Labor Party from 1988 until his retirement in 1996. Field is best known for operating in minority government with the support of the Independents, Tasmania's nascent Green party, with an agreement known as the Labor–Green Accord.
Harold Norman Holgate AO was an Australian politician. He was premier of Tasmania from 1981 to 1982, serving as state leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) during that period. He succeeded Doug Lowe as party leader and premier during internal conflict over the Franklin Dam controversy, leading the ALP to defeat at the 1982 state election just over six months after taking office.
Douglas Ackley Lowe AM was the 35th Premier of Tasmania, from 1 December 1977 to 11 November 1981. His time as Premier coincided with controversy over a proposal to build a dam on Tasmania's Gordon River, which would have flooded parts of the Franklin River. The ensuing crisis saw Lowe overthrown as Premier and resign from the Labor Party, acting as an independent for the remainder of his political career.
Eric Elliott Reece, AC was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975. His 13 years as premier remains the second longest in Tasmania's history, Only Robert Cosgrove has served for a longer period as premier. Reece was the first Premier of Tasmania to have been born in the 20th century.
Sir Walter Angus Bethune was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. He was Premier of Tasmania from 26 May 1969 to 3 May 1972.
William Edward Felix Hodgman is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was the premier of Tasmania from 2014 to 2020 and state leader of the Liberal Party from 2006 to 2020. He later served as High Commissioner of Australia to Singapore from 2021 to 2023.
The 1986 Tasmanian state election was held on 8 February 1986 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates. The quota required for election was 12.5% in each division.
The 1982 Tasmanian state election was held on 15 May 1982 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates. The quota required for election was 12.5% in each division.
Kenneth Shaw Wriedt was an Australian politician and leader of the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Labor Party.
The 1972 Tasmanian state election was held on 22 April 1972 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates.
The 1976 Tasmanian state election was held on 11 December 1976 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates.
The 1979 Tasmanian state election was held on 28 July 1979 in the Australian state of Tasmania to elect 35 members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly. The election used the Hare-Clark proportional representation system — seven members were elected from each of five electorates. The quota required for election was 12.5% in each division.
The Tasmanian power referendum was a one-question referendum held on 12 December 1981, and intended to determine the location of a proposed hydroelectricity dam to be built on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia.
Geoffrey Alan "Geoff" Pearsall is a former Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as a member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1969 until 1988 and as Leader of the Opposition (1979–1981). Robin Gray succeeded him in the latter role.
Jonathon Roy Duniam is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Liberal Party and has served as a Senator for Tasmania since the 2016 federal election. He served as an assistant minister in the Morrison government from 2019 until May 2022, following the appointment of the Albanese ministry. Prior to entering parliament Duniam was a political staffer, including as deputy chief of staff to Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman.
The Tasmanian Liberal Party, officially known as the Liberal Party of Australia (Tasmanian Division) and more simply as the Tasmanian Liberals, is the state division of the Liberal Party of Australia in Tasmania. The party currently governs in Tasmania as the only Liberal government in Australia above the local level. The party is part of the federal Liberal Party of Australia, currently in opposition.
The Tasmanian Labor Party, officially known as the Australian Labor Party (Tasmanian Branch) and commonly referred to simply as Tasmanian Labor, is the Tasmanian branch of the Australian Labor Party. It has been one of the most successful state Labor parties in Australia in terms of electoral success.